Smith DTh Thesis (final).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Chapter 7: Conclusionexception of Psalms 4-5, I found no evidence to suggest that use in a similarSitz im Leben could account for the arrangement of a pair of adjacent psalms.I also completely rejected the theory that the historical note in the heading ofPsalm 3—“a psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom, his son”—subsumes one or more of the following psalms, indicating that they werecomposed on the same occasion. The few historical data contained in thesepsalms do not fit this theory and, perhaps even more importantly, theheadings of Psalms 4-6 suggest that prior to the compilation of the canonicalPsalter, these hymns belonged to a different collection to Psalm 3.The second objective was to discover what criteria, if any, the editors used tojuxtapose neighbouring psalms. The strength of the links discovered stronglysuggested the editors did not organise these psalms randomly. There isevidence of purposeful arrangement. The primary criterion of arrangement layin verbal and thematic links. The compilers were concerned to ensure thateach pair of adjacent psalms shared certain common themes, which areusually signposted by shared terminology. Similarities in the psalm headingsprovided a secondary criterion of arrangement. The compilers attempted tokeep together psalms which shared elements in their headings, but, as wouldbecome evident later in the study, this consideration was subordinate toensuring a smooth thematic flow from one psalm to the next.307